Formula One - 2017 Season
(Content shamelessly stolen from various websites)
Rule Changes
In what is possibly the first time F1 has made aesthetics a central pillar of future regulations, 2017's cars are set to look more "aggressive" thanks to regulations to make them wider, heavier and run on fatter tyres. Wings will also be wider, with the rear wing lower than is currently the case. The FIA claim substantial gains of over three seconds are expected in 2017 through the "aerodynamic rules evolution, wider tires and reduction of car weight".
Engine Changes
COST
Agreement has been reached on a significant reduction in the price of power unit supply to customer teams and a reduction in cost to manufacturers over the coming years.
- In 2017 the power unit price for customer teams will be reduced by €1m per season compared to 2016.
- From 2018, the annual supply price will be reduced by a further €3m.
- Cost reduction on power units will be driven by changes to the Sporting and Technical regulations in 2017 and 2018, with a progressive reduction of the number of power unit elements per driver per season.
SUPPLY
Supply of power units to customer teams will be ensured, as the homologation procedure will include an “obligation to supply” that will be activated in the event of a team facing an absence of supply.
PERFORMANCE CONVERGENCE
The new agreement includes a package of measures aimed at achieving performance convergence.
- The token system is to be removed from 2017
- Additionally, constraints on power unit part weights, dimensions and materials, and on boost pressure will be introduced in 2017 and in 2018.
SOUND
Manufacturers are currently conducting a promising research programme into further improving the sound of the current power units, with the aim of implementation by 2018 at the latest.
Driver Lineup Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Confirmed)
Valtteri Bottas (Confirmed)
Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel (Confirmed)
Kimi Raikkonen (Confirmed)
Red Bull TAG-Heuer/Renault
Daniel Ricciardo (Confirmed)
Max Verstappen (Confirmed)
Williams-Mercedes
Felipe Massa (Confirmed)
Lance Stroll (Confirmed)
McLaren-Honda
Fernando Alonso (Confirmed)
Stoffel Vandoorne (Confirmed)
Force India-Mercedes
Sergio Perez (Confirmed)
Esteban Ocon (Confirmed)
Toro Rosso-Renault
Carlos Sainz (Confirmed)
Daniil Kvyat (Confirmed)
Renault
Nico Hulkenberg (Confirmed)
Jolyon Palmer (Confirmed)
Haas-Ferrari
Romain Grosjean (Confirmed)
Kevin Magnussen (Confirmed)
Sauber-Ferrari
Marcus Ericsson (Confirmed)
Pascal Wehrlein (Confirmed)
Manor-Mercedes
TBA
TBA
In administration
Car Launch Schedule
February 21: Renault, TBC
February 22: Force India VJM10, Silverstone
February 23: Mercedes W08, Silverstone
February 24: Ferrari, Fiorano
February 24: McLaren MP4-32, Woking
Pre Season Testing
Two test sessions will be held at Barcelona, the first on the 27th of Feb & the second on the 7th of March.
Calendar
March 26: Melbourne, Australia
April 9: Shanghai, China
April 16: Bahrain, Bahrain
April 30: Sochi, Russia
May 14: Barcelona, Spain
May 28: Monte Carlo, Monaco
June 11: Montreal, Canada
June 25: Baku, Azerbaijan
July 9: Spielberg, Austria
July 16: Silverstone, United Kingdom
July 30: Budapest, Hungary
August 27: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 3: Monza, Italy
September 17: Singapore, Singapore
October 1: Sepang, Malaysia
October 8: Suzuka, Japan
October 22: Austin, USA
October 29: Mexico City, Mexico
November 12: Sao Paolo, Brazil
November 26: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Prediction Game
The prediction game will be back again this year, but not just yet.

It's that time again where we all get excited about a new season of Formula One. Pre-season testing kicks off at the end of Jan so not long to go now!
2016 PRE-SEASON TEST SCHEDULE
January 25-26: Paul Ricard, Wet-weather running
February 22-25: Barcelona
March 1-4: Barcelona
2016 RACE CALENDAR
20 March: Melbourne, Australia
3 April: Bahrain, Bahrain
17 April: Shanghai, China
1 May: Sochi, Russia
15 May: Barcelona, Spain
29 May: Monte Carlo, Monaco
12 June: Montreal, Canada
19 June: Baku, Azerbaijan*
3 July: Spielberg, Austria
10 July: Silverstone, United Kingdom
24 July: Budapest, Hungary
31 July: Hockenheim, Germany
28 August: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
4 September: Monza, Italy
18 September: Singapore
2 October: Sepang, Malaysia
9 October: Suzuka, Japan
23 October: Austin, USA**
30 October: Mexico City, Mexico
13 November: Sao Paolo, Brazil
27 November: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Technical regulations Cars will be required to be designed with a separate wastegate for exhaust gases to pass throughcolloquially dubbed the "screamer pipe"in a bid to increase the noise of the cars following criticism since the introduction of the 2014 generation of engines.Tyre supplier Pirelli will introduce a fifth tyre compound known as "ultrasoft".
Pirelli will change their approach to tyre supply in 2016, bringing three compounds to races instead of two and allowing teams the freedom to choose which two compounds they use.
Teams are allowed to supply their two cars with a different selection. The choices will be made public two weeks before the race. The FIA has opted to increase the number of tokens available for power unit development stating in 2016. While the initial plans would have given manufacturers fifteen tokens for the season, the number was raised to thirty-two, the same number as 2014, in order to allow struggling manufacturers such as Renault and Honda to improve their development. This decision also allows further development on parts that were initially planned to be closed off, including the upper and lower crankcase, valve drive, crankshaft, air-valve system and ancillaries drive.Sporting regulationsStarting in 2016, the number of pre-season tests will be reduced from three to two.The stewards will be given greater powers in enforcing track limits, with drivers required to stay between the white lines marking the edges of the circuit, except in cases of driver error.
The change was introduced after an investigation by Pirelli into Sebastian Vettel's high-speed blow-out at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix that concluded that Vettel's off-track excursions had been a significant factor in the incident. The FIA is also exploring a number of solutions to discourage drivers from abusing track limits and aid in their policing, including GPS tracking, the reprofiling of kerbs, the installation of pressure-sensitive sensors and the use of high-speed cameras.Any driver who causes the start of the race to be aborted will be required to start the race from pit lane at the restart.The procedure for issuing gearbox penalties will be amended so that penalties are applied in the order that they are awarded, bringing the system in line with the wider grid penalty system.The Virtual Safety Car system will be used in practice sessions as well to avoid the unnecessary use of red flags and session stoppages.The drag reduction system, which is deactivated when under Virtual Safety Car periods and full-course yellow flags will be available as soon as a Virtual Safety Car period has ended;
drivers previously had to wait two laps before the system was reactivated. The process new drivers go through in order to qualify for a superlicence will be changed,
with additional restrictions put in place as part of the wider FIA Global Pathway.
The changes were introduced following controversy surrounding Max Verstappen qualifying for a superlicence at the age of sixteen after a single season competing in European Formula 3. Fantasy F1
There are two games to take part in this year, Bob is not running his predicathon but has set up a fanstasy racers league here:
and since I wanted to defend my prediction title I've set up my own version of Bob's game here: http://f1-predict.herokuapp.com/